WEST HAVEN,March 24, 2014 —
When they fill West Haven High School’s auditorium this week for “Willy
Wonka,” audiences will see set decorations looking like candy, clear
bulbs outlining scenery, and giant versions of the iconic Wonka “W”
adorning the stage.

But everything is not as it appears. That’s because much of the
set—which the public will see for the first time tonight when the show
opens—was built with materials that are normally tossed in the garbage
or recycling bins.

What look like see-through glass bulbs outlining part of the
stage are actually the cut-off bottoms of clear water bottles. One large
“W” is made of colorful plastic Easter eggs, while others are covered
in painted bottled caps and used K-cups from coffee machines. And the
rows of candy? They’re actually additional plastic eggs and pieces of
foam.

The set also incorporates tiny green soldier toys, plastic
utensils, flooring and fabric samples, Christmas ornaments, tiny drink
umbrellas, an old sequin belt and discarded CDs. But from a seat in the
audience, you’d never know it, thanks to the way cast-offs are arranged,
painted and used in the design.

“When I asked for certain things, it caused people to think, ‘I
bet they can use this or that.’ It triggers the imagination,” said
scenery designer T. Sean Maher, who is co-directing the musical with
wife Margi Maher.

The West Haven High School Theatre Workshop’s performances of
“Willy Wonka” are March 27-29 at 7:30 p.m., with tickets being sold for
$12 at the door for adults and $8 for students, children and seniors. A 2
p.m. matinee March 29 is free for all senior citizens.

The “Willy Wonka” musical is based off of Roald Dahl’s classic
book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and includes music and lyrics
by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.

Multi-day auditions held in January resulted in a cast of WHHS
senior Howard Powell as Wonka , five other students playing the
children—junior Thomas Nelson as Charlie, freshman JJ Brentson as
Augustus, junior Whitney Bibens as Violet, senior Jenn Wilson as Veruca
and freshman Tyler Newkirk as Mike— and 40 others playing parents, other
children and the infamous oompa loompas. Numerous others make up the
behind-the-scenes crew.

Jess D'Amato, an alumni of the theater program, is the
assistant choreographer, WHHS teacher Phyllis Silver is the musical
director, Matt Cusmano, another alumni of the workshop, is the technical
director, and Peg Maher, T. Sean Maher’s mother and WHHS alumnus, is
the costumer. Senior Nicole Woosley is the stage manager, junior
Katerina Mazzacane is the assistant stage manger, and sophomore Brianna
Hackett is Mazzacane’s assistant.

Although it has always accepted donations of furniture and
décor, the theatre workshop is using recycled materials in sets for the
first time this year. Maher says he and his wife were inspired by
Broadway set designer Donyale Werle, who is known for this unique
approach to building scenery.

“I met her at a Broadway teachers’ workshop in Manhattan. It
really intrigued me. She had flowers made of G.I. Joes, but you couldn’t
tell,” Maher explained.

He developed a list of recycled goods he thought he could use
and asked students and parents for donations. But he had no idea how he
could transform them until the bags and boxes of junk started coming in.

After letting their imaginations run wild for the past few months, Maher and the rest of the crew are proud of the results.

“We like to sit in the rows of seats of the auditorium, turn on
the lights, and look at how the set looks from there,” Maher said. ““We
get excited every night about what we’ve created.”